Youth champion Durga Shakti's cause

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) Youngsters from around the country are demanding immediate reinstatement of suspended Uttar Pradesh IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal and are using social media to spread the word.

At present, there over 35 support groups such as "Iron lady Durga" and "Justice for Durga" on popular social networking website Facebook and other sites.

There are even photos of Nagpal with inspirational quotes being shared on popular chat platforms like Whatsapp and Blackberry Messenger.

"She was suspended for doing her duty honestly. Is this the future of India where the corrupt will rule us and punish those who go against their will," asked a fuming 19 -year-old Jyothika, a student from Tamil Nadu who aspires to join the Indian Police Service (IPS).

"But these incidents are really demoralising," she added.

Nagpal, a 28-year-old 2009 batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), who had taken on the sand mafia in Noida, was suspended by the Uttar Pradesh government July 29.

The state government said she was suspended for ordering the demolition of a mosque wall, and this could have led to communal tensions. Nagpal has denied the charge.

For 28-year-old Raman Chetri, a resident of Kalimpong in West Bengal, Nagpal is a role model and motivation for many youngsters like him.

"I am working in a government organistaion and there is rampant corruption around me but never have I let myself get tempted. She is a role model for me and it's good to know that there are others like me out there," he said.

Youngsters also said Nagpal must be reinstated immediately.

"She should get her job immediately or a bad precedent will be set among many civil services aspirants that if you mess with a politician you may lose your job," said Rehman Saif, a 25-year-old from Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

"It would be disastrous if civil servants start working under the influence and fear of corrupt politicians," he added.

Such has been the impact of Nagpal's suspension that a district collector in Nanded, Maharashtra named a baby girl born at a state-run hospital Durga Shakti, after the suspended IAS officer.

The collector, who was on an inspection of the hospital, was asked by the baby's mother to name her child.